Reputation Handout

Reputation

• What are some examples of contracts that you know about?

• If you had to define the word "name," what would you write?

Contracts

• What general principle is given in Ecclesiastes 5:5?

• What do Matthew 5:37 and James 5:12 indicate?

• Does God really expect a Christian to do everything they say they will do?

• What if I forget? If I tell someone that I will do something and I then forget is that excusable?

The Case of Tyre

• What relationship is developed in 2 Samuel 5:11, 1 Kings 5:1-12, and 1 Kings 9:11-14?

• Why would ancient princes and kings marry?

• Who did Ahab, king of Israel, marry in 1 Kings 16:31?

• The book of Amos was written between 790 and 739 B.C. Ahab reigned in Israel in approximately 870 BC and David reigned in about 1000 BC. In other words well over 100 years had passed from the reign of Ahab and over 200 years from the reign of David. Do you think God expected Phoenicia to keep a covenant they had made so much earlier?

Apparently God takes contractual obligations very seriously, even when hundreds of years have passed.

A Biblical Application

• According to 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, what should believers be very careful about?

• What are some examples of contracts that person might enter that one might reasonably expect to involve their spiritual well-being or testimony?

• Why would it be important to think about these things before entering into the contract?

Personal Applications

• How do you think this study could personally apply to you in the future?

Finance

• What parable does Christ present in Matthew 25:14-30?

• The parable speaks of "talents" what is a talent?

• According to the parable, what does the master expect the servant to do with the talent?

• What is the difference in reward between the man given five talents and the man given two talents? What is the significance of this?

• What is the broad message of this parable?

• What do 1 Corinthians 4:7 and James 1:17 teach?

• What does Romans 13:8 command?

• So what is the Biblical principle?

Conclusion

• What are some ways in which a Christian can destroy their reputation?

• Are there ways a Christian can have their reputation destroyed for the cause of Christ?

• What steps do you need to take to protect your reputation?

• If God asks you to give up your reputation for the cause of Christ will you bear that burden?